Accomplishing our vision begins with setting goals. No matter whether our vision is tied into ministry, is Spiritually based or not, those goals must be in alignment with God’s desire for our lives. Our verse today tells us that even though we may have plans for our lives, God also has a plan and He has goals in how those plans will come together. Today’s verse, Proverbs 19:21 says, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” (KJV) The New American Standard Bible says it this way, “Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.”
If you are anything like me, I’m not a good goal-setter. I am great at getting things started, but not always a good finisher and that is partly because I haven’t set goals before I begin a project. I kind of go head-first into a project with no real thought of where I want to be in the process at a set time, or how I want the project to look or a myriad of other things. That doesn’t always lead to a successful outcome.
As we talk about vision, I think of the vision I have for my blog. My vision is to reach people for Christ. As I look at setting goals, I need to place a goal for my vision. For me, the goal is that someone, even just one person, will come to know Jesus as their Savior through my blog. I then need to think about how I would go about accomplishing that goal. The first thing that pops into my head is, I first need to go to God, pray and ask Him to help me make my posts clear and understandable, posting encouragement that lines up with the Bible, and always look to Him for guidance in writing and doing my Bible Journaling.
My writing must be Scripturally correct, the ideas I put forth must line up with God’s will and desire for each one of us. Therefore, I must keep in close relationship with Him, praying and asking for His help and asking that He move someone’s heart to let me know that through my writing, they have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. In my mind, if just one person gets saved, then I will have accomplished the vision I have set before me.
I need also to put feet to accomplishing the goal. I need to be sure that I am more consistent in posting and Bible Journaling. I cannot let the enemy distract me from achieving my objective. That may entail setting a specific time of every day to do my Journaling and blog. I also must pray and ask God to help me not to yield to the temptation of falling for Satan’s traps.
Setting goals need to be achievable. Sometimes we set goals so high that it is virtually impossible to attain the lofty goals we have set for ourselves and then we become disillusioned. We set ourselves up for failure. Again, we need to pray and ask God to help us set realistic goals.
The goals should also line up with what God desires for us. He has a set pathway all planned out for us. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (NIV)
He wants us to have a vision and He wants us to succeed in accomplishing that vision utilizing “God” goals; goals that will align with God’s desires for us. As we fix our eyes on going forward toward the vision we have set for ourselves, let this post be a reminder to set “God” goals that will lead to success. Then pray for God’s help, and He will help us.
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